2008 Season Outlook

First year head coach Alison Swain has the entire Eph lineup from 2007 back as well as some significant first years to add to a team that went 19-6 and finished fourth in the nation in last spring.

During the fall the Ephs' top singles player, junior Cary Gibson, showed continued high-level development by capturing the ITA Northeast Title with a three set win over teammate Grace Baljon in the finals.

At the final fall event, the New England Women's Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament (NEWITT) three Ephs brought home singles titles and a first year duo won a doubles title.  Sophomore Grace Baljon was victorious at Flight 2, first year Lucy Marchese claimed the title in Flight 3 and sophomore Ashley Parsons took top honors in Flight 5. Marchese then teamed with classmate Nikki Reich to capture the Flight 3 doubles crown.

The Ephs posted a 3-1 dual match record in the fall portion of their schedule with the lone loss coming at the hands of archrival Amherst, 5-4. In the Amherst match the Ephs did not win a doubles contest and you can be sure that doubles play will be a point of emphasis in the preseason. "I have made some changes in the doubles lineup that I am very confident in, returning to last year’s All-American duo of Gibson and Schneidman (ranked #5 in the country at the end of the 06-07 season) and the number two team of Rottkamp and Baljon, who went 21-4 last year," Swain said. "Marchese and Reich will start at three doubles to continue their strong play from the end of the fall season."

Cary Gibson '09

When the brief fall season ended, the Eph lineup had Cary Gibson and Grace Baljon at number one doubles with seniors Allie Rottkamp and Annie Schneidman at number two and Marchese and Reich playing at three. In singles the Ephs had Gibson at one, Baljon at two, Marchese at three, Reich at four, Parsons at five and Schneidman at six.

"In singles, we have a lot of depth and the top of our lineup is as strong as it has ever been," Swain stated. "Truly, I am lucky to be creating the singles lineup with the girls we have.  There are no bad choices.”

That lineup could see some changes with the return to campus of tournament-tested junior Annie Hancock. Swain also has seniors Jane Kelley, Katrina Ferrara, sophomore Genny Loomis and first year Kathryn Friedman on hand to provide depth.

“It is always difficult to determine the lineup before we start playing our dual matches in the spring," noted Swain. "Much of this fall was me getting a feel for the girls’ playing styles and moving things around a lot. While I anticipate that the lineup will shift less this spring, it will evolve over the course of our spring break matches."

The Ephs got off to a sensational 8-0 start last spring when they opened their spring break trip on the west coast and finished it up in San Antonio. Along the way the Ephs defeated five nationally ranked teams, the defending NCAA Champion Emory Eagles and eventual NCAA Champion Washington & Lee.

The key to this year’s spring will be to have a strong hot West coast start, improve doubles play, and solidify the lineup.

Annie Schneidman '0

“The team this year is extremely focused and has set the bar very high for themselves," Swain said. "My captains have done an amazing job keeping the team close and motivated during our preseason.  So far, the girls have pushed themselves extremely hard mentally and physically. Preseason has been tough, but we know we have to work hard.  Most other top teams in the country are playing outside right now and have been playing matches all of February -- we have to work harder now to get ready to compete with them. My hope for spring break is that we start to build confidence, become more match tough, and work through our match play so that we can come into our NESCAC schedule with a lot of momentum.  Seeing improvement in our play over spring break will be key as our first dual match back East is against Amherst followed a few days later by Middlebury.”

The first goal of every Williams team every season is to win the Little Three title over Amherst and Wesleyan and then concentrate on the NESCAC Tournament and see where that leads on the national scene.

NESCAC is rapidly becoming the nation's premier women's tennis conference with Williams, Amherst and Middlebury annually qualifying for the NCAA Tournament and Tufts and Bowdoin quickly closing the gap.

“Playing in the NESCAC keeps us very match tough," stated Swain. "There are no easy contests for us.  Every player on our team looks at each conference match as a challenge and a means of improvement.  We know going into post-season play that we are as match tough as any other team in the country because we have been playing some of the top teams all season long.”

The Ephs are working on a streak of 14 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, having qualified for the NCAAs every year since NESCAC team participation was allowed in 1994.

Grace Baljon '

“Since I took over the head coaching position this summer, my goal for the girls has been that they end their season feeling like they gave everything they could to each other and the team; that they compete with as much heart as they are capable.  In tennis, you can’t always control the outcome of a match, or precisely what shots are going to be there on a given day.  But I do know that we are extremely talented and with a lot of hard work, health, and determination we are capable of playing deep into the NCAA Championships.  The girls really want it this year, and you can feel their energy and drive each time they play.”

The spring portion of the schedule will begin on March 19th in San Diego when the Ephs face Point Loma University, a NAIA school, before meeting up with Claremont, Redlands and Pomona and then heading to Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. At Washington & Lee the Ephs will face the host school, Trinity (TX) and Emory.

The New England portion of the schedule will open on April 5th when the Ephs head to Amherst for an 11:00 am match.